CLEVELAND COUNTY, NC (FOX 46 WJZY) - A North Carolina man is accused of killing a 7-month-old boy he was babysitting, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office.

Garrett Clay Fredrick, 24, of Kings Mountain, has been charged with first-degree murder after the baby died Tuesday morning.

According to the sheriff's office, Fredrick had been watching the child Sunday night while his mother and her boyfriend went out to dinner. When they returned to the home on Ferguson Dr. in Kings Mountain shortly after 9 p.m., Fredrick told them "something was wrong with the boy," but did not call for help.

When the couple called 911, Fredrick, who reportedly had outstanding burglary warrants for his arrest, fled the scene.

The child was taken to the hospital and then flown to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte where he died. Doctors said he had trauma-related injuries and determined that even if the infant survived, he would likely be brain-dead as a result of the trauma.

Fredrick was arrested Tuesday. He's currently being held at the Cleveland County Jail without bond.

Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman released this statement:

“Anyone who would do this to an innocent, defenseless baby is an evil coward. My faith tells me that he will have a day of reckoning in front of the Almighty, once his time on this earth is over. In the meantime, our detectives will put together a case that ensures he is held accountable to the laws of this state, and he will not be able to do this to any other defenseless victims. During the course of our work, our deputies sometimes see the worst of what humans can do to each other. We take some small satisfaction from the fact that we can hold the perpetrators of pure evil acts accountable.”